Global Commodity Chains and Labor Rights - Essay Example

Global Commodity Chains and Labor Rights Over the year global trade networks has experienced a significant growth. This is because of various factors, which inclusively affect this growth. However, there concerns about the effects of the growth of global networks to the working conditions of the laborers especially in the developing countries. Sweatshops are always a result of the poverty levels in the developing countries. Labor standard are affected by factors like firm strategies, government policies, and consumer choices. The textile industry in Cambodia, has exhibited the effect of the above factors in the labour standards. This paper will use the textile industry in Cambodia as an example to review the debate concerning labor standards. Cambodia is the second highest producer of textile products globally. Over the years, the industry has been growing significantly in terms of income. The industry has also grown significantly in terms of labor base. The industry employs more than 350000 persons, most of them being young women (Lewin, David, Bruce and Paul 182). There have been several concerns about the labour conditions in Cambodian textile factories by the International Labor Organization. These concerns include the state of the factory infrastructure, the rate of payment, the number of employees per factory, the length of the working period, and the required facilities for a safe working environment. The poor working conditions in this industry are always associated with the level of poverty in the country. The employees in the textile factories in Cambodia have in various occasions complained about poor and delayed payments. This factor goes against the international standards for laborers (Flanagan, Robert , and Gould 77). A good example of such incidences is the demonstrations by the employees at Pine Great Factory in Phnom Penh. They were demonstrating about a three months delay in their payments. The workers were also demanding for a 33.33% increment in their salaries as the company had promised them. In addition to this, they were also demanding for the introduction of employment contract as per the previous agreement with the company’s management. Some factories have management strategies that promote the improvement of the labor standards of their laborers. These strategies can also affect the labor standards negatively. A good example of such an incidence is a scenario where a company has a management policy that requires their employees to work on limited payment (Stoler, Andrew, Redden, and Lee 111). This is always done with the aim of reducing the total production cost. Though it might be economically effective to the management of the factories, it might inconvenience the laborers in various ways. The textile factories in Cambodia face a big challenge in the name of poor infrastructure. This can be a result of the company management trying to economize on the building cost ignoring the importance of creating a good working environment for their employees (Lewin, David, Bruce and Paul 143). This is evident in the various infrastructural related accidents that have occurred in various textile factories in the recent past. A good example is the series of accidents experienced in Bangladesh where more than 1,100 laborers lost their lives after a factory building collapsed. Such incidences are a violation of human rights as they are easily avoidable. The poor standards are also experienced in the living standards of the employees. Most of the laborers in the textile factories live in substandard houses usually located near the factories (Stoler, Andrew, Redden, and Lee 137). A good example of such a case is the shanties that the laborer working at the Chu Hsing textile factory live in. they live in shanties built along the banks of river Mekong. They live in these substandard shanks in groups because of the fact that they are not capable o renting spacious residence. The laborers also have little or even no leisure activities because of the little payment they get and the longer hours work schedules. This make their live miserable as leisure is an important aspect of human lives. According to a report by the International Labour Organization, there have been several reported cases of sexual harassment in various textile factories in Cambodia. The harassment, though has been dealt with by the local authorities has proved to be an issue in some of the textile factories. The textile industry has also been discovered to be employing underage laborers. This amount to a child labor offense. However, a common in most developing countries, this kind of activity is outdated and should be dealt with by the local authorities (Lewin, David, Bruce, and Paul 78). This is because the International Labor Organization has no jurisdiction to undertake law enforcement activities. In Cambodia, most of the textile factories practice over-time working involuntarily. Some of the factories even exceed the international limit for over-time working (Flanagan, Robert, and Gould 92). This kind of treatment subjects the laborers to harsh and inhuman working conditions. The involuntary over-time working also interferes with productivity of the laborers and leaves them at the risk of getting health complications that relate to lack of rest and fatigue. The laborers are also denied freedom of expression in terms of antiunion discrimination in some factories. Such discriminations leave some of the laborers with no one to make sure that their employers fulfill their rights. Consumer choice plays a big role in the labor standards in the textile in industry in Cambodia. Low purchasing powers by the consumers always leave the producers with no choice but to lower their prices. With the low market prices, pressure can mount on the producer to try at all cost to reduce their production cost. One of the way through which they can lower their production cost is reducing the expenditure on wages and salaries. Such actions end up subjecting the laborers to unfavorable living standards (Stoler, Andrew, Redden, and Lee 142). This is a breach of the labor standards set by the International Labor Organization. This has seen the labor standards in Cambodia decrease highly. Government policies have a big effect on the labor standards of a country. This is because these policies determine how their employers treat the laborers. For instance, the Cambodian government has put forth policies that ensure laborers get proper treatment from their employers. Such policies include the policy on contracts and their termination (Lewin, David, Bruce, and Paul 135). This policy ensures that the factory owners abide by the contracts signed by the laborers. The country has anti discrimination laws that ensure that all the laborers are getting equal treatment. The country has an annual leave policy which ensure that each employee gets at least one work leave annually. These policies have seen the labor standards in Cambodia increase over the past few years. International bilateral trade agreements can also have an effect on the labor standards of a country. The bilateral trade treaty involving the United States of America and Cambodia is one of the many examples of such treaties. Under this treaty, the United States of America agreed to import Cambodian textile products. However, there was a condition that Cambodia was to improve the conditions of the labor standards in the country. They were also expected to allow factory inspection by the International Labor Organization (Stoler, Andrew, Redden, and Lee 145). The signing of this treaty caused an increase in both labor standards and textile products exports. In case the International Labor Organization gave a positive report, the country’s quota would be increased. The effects of this trade treaty continue to be felt even though the treaty lapsed in 2005. It is evident that globalization of trade has a big effect on the labor standards in a country. However, in developing countries these standards are always linked to the high levels of poverty. Despite the International Labor Organization giving guideline on the labor standards, it is the national governments’ responsibility to make sure that these standards are met. This is the reason why there have not been complete changes in countries where the government ignore this responsibility. Given that the textile industry depends a lot on human labor, ignoring of labor standards can be of a negative effect to the production process. Work Cited Lewin, David, Bruce E. Kaufman, and Paul Gollan. Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations: Vol. 17. Bingley: Emerald, 2010. Print. Stoler, Andrew L, Jim Redden, and Lee A. Jackson. Trade and Poverty Reduction in the Asia-Pacific Region: Case Studies and Lessons from Low-Income Communities. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009. Print. Flanagan, Robert J, and William B. Gould. International Labor Standards: Globalization, Trade, and Public Policy. Stanford, Calif: Stanford Law and Politics, 2003. Print. Read More